Welcome Back
by Demeanon
Summary: Chihiro returns to the Spirit World, but not on her own choice. She is tricked into going back and must now work off her debt to the bath house. Can Kohaku get to her before its too late?
1. Prolouge

Demeanon: Okay, this is my first attempt at a Spirited Away story. So, please tell me what you think. Also, please don't flame. I'd rather have constructive criticism. It helps me learn my flaws and mistakes in a way that doesn't crush my self-esteem. Because it actually takes a lot of courage on my part to post a new story.

Rating on this story is most likely subject to change.

Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away because I am me, and not Hayao Miyazaki.

* * *

_Prolouge_

The man walked up the hallway and stopped at the wooden door. He stood there for a while, and then the door knocker started talking.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to knock?" He stared at the ugly knocker in reply. "Well don't just stand there!"

The door flew open, and the man stared impassively at the doors that continued to slam open in front of him. His black eyes once again stared at the hallway, and he inwardly smirked. '_It is far too easy to get this old one angry and frustrated._'

"Why don't you come in?" He started forward, and quickly got bored as the walls kept stretching on and on.

Doors slammed shut and locked behind him, and he soon appeared in a well furnished room. Unfortunately, the room's beauty was defeated by three green heads bouncing around, sounding like they were choking and coughing at the same time.

"What did you summon me here for?" The man crossed his arms and stared out the window.

The old woman behind the desk looked up from her gold counting to stare before looking back. "I need you to do a job for me Yokoshima."

"And that is?" Yokoshima replied, his eyes switching to the odd old lady.

Yubaba looked up and placed her hands on the desk in a laid-back manner. "There is this human girl who owes the bath house money, and I need her back. Because you still have a home in the Human world, I want you to find her and bring her back."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"For a forest spirit you have a lot of fire in you." Yubaba noted as she sent a paper over to the forest spirit. "You are to open a shop that the girl is most likely to want to work at, and get her to sign this contract. Bring it back to me after she signs it." Yokoshima nodded and rolled the paper up.

As he put it in his pocket, he said, "I'll need something to recognize her by. The girl that is."

"Ah, yes. You most likely would." A paper from one of the bookshelves flew over to the dark man, and he grabbed it lightly.

It was a drawn picture of a girl around eleven, and it was obvious that it was at least five years old. "Will she still look like this? I know humans age faster than we do." Yokoshima waved the paper around before staring at it again.

Yubaba sighed impatiently, and waved her hand. The drawing soon began to age, and soon a sixteen year old girl was staring back at Yokoshima. "She's beautiful."

"Her name here was Sen," Yubaba said as she went back to counting gold. "I believe her real name was Chihiro.

Yokoshima nodded as he bowed and walked back to the door. However, he was stopped when Yubaba called out to him again.

"Because you seem to adore her, I will make a deal with you. If you can get her back to this world within a month then she can be your personal assistant." Yokoshima smirked and nodded as he started for the door again. "Watch out for my previous apprentice though. He loves Chihiro, and can be dangerous when angry."

"Kohaku? Please. He can't cause any trouble to me. The forest always tames the river, that's just how things are." Yokoshima gave a short laugh before bowing again and leaving.

'_At least that's what happens most of the time._' Yokoshima scowled at his thoughts, and shook his head in an attempt to shake the thoughts away. '_Don't think about that. Just focus on getting this 'Chihiro' girl here._'

* * *

Demeanon: So, how is it? Yokoshima belongs to me, so his physical appearance is still being worked out. All I know is that he is a rather darkish person. And sorry about this being short. I only have planned out to when Chihiro gets back into the Spirit world.

Anywho, please review. Because this might not continue if there are no reviews.


	2. Welcome to Town

Demeanon: Well, Chapter two is begun on the same day that the story was dreamt up on. Fascinating. That hardly ever happens with me. Anywho, due to the fact that I only have one review so far, and it is anonymous, I will begin the habit of replying to reviews after the story. Also, I would like to thank all those who reviewed. The reviews help my self-esteem, which makes me want to write more. Thanks for the reviews everyone!

Rating of this story is subject to change. Mostly due to the actions of Yokoshima and the reactions on the part of the other characters…

Disclaimer: Woe is me… I own nothing of any importance…

* * *

_Welcome to Town_

"Chihiro, wake up! You're going to be late for school!" Chihiro opened her eyes and groggily sat up at the sound of her mother calling her.

She blinked in a tired manner, and then got up. Chihiro stretched as she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a white polo shirt.

Chihiro padded down to the kitchen, and grabbed a piece of toast. She held it in her mouth as she tied her hair back in a half pony tail with her favorite hair tie.

She sat down and chewed her toast as quickly as someone who had just woken up could. Which actually is rather slow. Her mother stopped cleaning the pan she used to cook the toast to glare at her daughter.

"Chihiro, hurry up! I can't drive you to work today; I have to work at the diner!" Chihiro's mother ordered her daughter, who proceeded to attempt to shove her toast down her throat.

'_Fine, fine._' Chihiro thought as she gulped down her water. '_I'm sixteen for crying out loud. I can take care of myself. **And**, I have a bike. A crappy bike, but a bike nonetheless._'

Chihiro ended up making the bus, and she sat next to her friend Michiyo.

"Hey Chihiro. Nice to see you again." Chihiro waved in response as she looked out the window.

Michiyo looked at her friend, and poked her playfully on the shoulder to get her attention. "What's up? You seem off today."

"I'm just tired." Michiyo nodded at that, and the rest of the ride to the school house was quiet between the two.

'_I wish I could have finished that dream… Haku had been just a few inches away from grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the nightmarish forest. I hope that he's okay… he hasn't come to see me yet. He promised he would…_' Chihiro thought, and clenched her hands into her uniform's skirt in a successful attempt to stop the tears from leaking out.

* * *

"Hello and welcome to our fine town. I hope you enjoy your stay." Yokoshima repressed the urge to glare and slam the door closed on the welcoming committee, and forced a smile to his face. 

"So far, the town seems nice. Although I have a question; would I be able to open a small shop in this room?" He gestured to the large, square shaped front room of his new home.

The committee exchanged a few confused and apprehensive looks before the one at the door answered. "It should be allowed, but no one has done it since the old flower shop down the road. What type of store were you thinking of opening?"

Yokoshima hadn't expected them to ask that question, and fumbled for an answer while thinking about possible things Chihiro might like. He could open a clothing shop, but he didn't have any clothes to sell. A video rental shop could be opened, but there was already a store next door that took that away. Yokoshima smiled at the next thought that came into his head. Yes, that would work.

"I'm thinking of opening a book store with some posters of mythological beasts I've painted for sale at the register." Several committee members looked very pleased with that choice, and with that they handed him the fruit basket and left after it became clear that Yokoshima didn't want any more company.

After they left, Yokoshima put the basket down on the floor and began to weave a spell. He saw the shop in perfect clarity in his mind's eye, and soon there were bookshelves and comic book stands in the room. A desk with a cash register stood towards the back corner with several things necessary for a small business on and in the desk.

He looked around in satisfaction. It was cozy and pleasing to the eye, but was also very calm. '_I believe Chihiro will like it._' Yokoshima smiled in pleasure and clenched his hands in triumph. '_Now to get to work on those posters…_'

With another wave of his hand, several pieces of paper flew towards him, along with his ink and brushes and some more colorful ink. Yokoshima preferred the old style of painting much more than the new style. Brushworks were so much more beautiful in their simplicity.

Yokoshima picked up one of the brushes and was about to dip it in the ink when he noticed the fruit basket again. He glared at it, and soon it turned to dust in the basket. He put the brush down long enough to take the basket out back and dump it, throwing the basket as well. He returned and began to draw Kohaku's dragon form when flying.

'_So far, so good. Now to locate Chihiro._'

* * *

Haku ran down the stairs to the boiler room. The water had stopped coming, and the guests were beginning to get angry. 

"Kamajii, why isn't there any water coming?" Haku hissed as he entered the room.

Kamajii looked up from the small amount of soap he was making, and nodded at Haku. "Ah, Master Kohaku. I was wondering when you would be coming to berate me on my lack of work."

Haku glared. Only three people were allowed to call him Kohaku, though one of them insisted on continuing to call him Haku. "Well, what is the reason? And please hurry up, because I have to get back to work."

"Yes, you must get back to the work of overseeing the money transactions, so I won't keep you long." Kamajii paused to drink from his teapot, and coughed slightly as he felt some trickle down his windpipe. "If you must know, I have run out of the most commonly used spice for the baths, and Master Yokoshima isn't around to go and get any more. Given the fact that I have run out of the spice already, shouldn't we be running out of food soon?"

Haku blanched. So his cousin really was gone. "At least we have all those pigs to cook. As long as none of our guests are vegetarians, we will be able to continue serving them with food." Haku let out a tired sigh. "However, I guess I will be the one to go fetch you some more spice. No one else is allowed out of the bath house because of their contract."

Kamajii nodded, and returned to his work. "You can go back to Yubaba and tell her that you yelled at me for not doing my work, which I am. I'm just not doing the important part."

"Like that helps." Haku muttered as he returned to Yubaba's office.

* * *

Demeanon: Yay! Okay, this chapter is short too, but I have a lot of other work to do. So… yeah. Please review people. It lets me know that you like the story enough to actually review. 

Here are the review replies:

**chikenfajita**: Thanks for the review, and I will write more. Hopefully your friends will find it good as well.

**Raelin**: Thanks! . Thanks for the offer as well, but I'm not sure if it will work, because my email address contains my name… uh, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to say that… Anyway, If I can find a way to contact you I will.

**Pokematic7**: Thanks, and it will continue.

**Tinker Bell**: I will. Thanks for the review, even though it was short.

**ICE**: Thanks for saying so! Also, thanks for being my very first reviewer! You get a virtual cake!

Yeah. Also, thanks to the people who have put this story on their fav lists and alert lists. Its almost as good as a review, but a review lets me get to know you a bit more. I like getting to know my readers. Anywho, see y'all next time! .


	3. Welcome to the Store

Demeanon: Hello again peoples! I apologize for any errors that were in the last chapter. I don't have an editor… I have also noticed that so far, all the chapters have extremly similar names . . . didn't plan that. So! Once again, thanks to all those who reviewed. And, I'm sorry the last chapter was so crappy. It's nearing the end of the school year, and no matter what age you are, if you are around kids it is a difficult time of year. Fortunately, none of them are mine. Okay, enough rambling about me.

Disclaimer: I own my OCs and my original stories on DeviantArt.

* * *

**_Welcome to the Shop_**

"Ah, Kohaku, you're back already?" Yubaba crooned as she filed through paperwork that needed to be done. "So, what is Kamajii doing that requires him to shirk his duties?"

"He has run out of the herbs he needs to make the water less dangerous to be in." Haku sighed; his stomach was ready to growl. "Also, the kitchens are running low on food. Shouldn't Yokoshima be getting the supplies?"

"Yokoshima is on a mission for me, and until he returns his job needs filling." Yubaba looked up at Haku, and smiled. "Maybe you can fill his position."

Haku's head shot up and he gasped in surprise. "Me? But I manage the-"

"I have plenty of money managers for you not to be missed. I'm sure you wouldn't mind going out to buy the things we need?" Yubaba signed a paper and placed it in her box.

Haku started to talk, and then stopped to think about it. Without the food and the herbs, the bath house would close down, and then the spirits would attempt to breach the human world for relaxation in the human world's many 'spas.' '_Oh no, what would happen to Chihiro if that happened?_' Several horrible scenarios flashed before his mind's eye, and he dispersed them quickly. Unfortunately, he didn't get them out of his head before they disturbed him.

"No, I wouldn't mind at all. After all, everyone needs relaxation at some point." Haku folded his hands behind his back as he stood still as a rock.

Yubaba chuckled. "Well then, here's a list of things you'll need to pick up. Unfortunately, I don't know where Yokoshima goes to get all of these things, so you'll have to figure that out on your own. Try to be back before two months at most pass." A paper floated to Haku, who grabbed it before stuffing it in a pocket. "It is possible to do it all in only two days. After all, Yokoshima is well known for doing this job in a day and a half."

"I know what my cousin has done Yubaba. Now I must be going if you don't want to have to close down soon." Haku bowed and walked out of the room, leaving Yubaba to work on her paperwork.

"He'll be back," Yubaba said to the three heads watching her from the fireplace. "I can't wait to see what his reaction is when he sees that his cousin has gotten his favorite girl."

Yubaba's laughter rang out loud and clear through the room, and then the sound of a scribbling pen resumed.

* * *

Chihiro put her books in her bag and walked over to check the list to see who would clean what room this week. Chihiro smiled when she saw that both she and Michiyo had the day off. That was rare, but she loved it anyway. 

"Wow, we get the day off! How lucky is that Chihiro?" Michiyo exclaimed when she saw the list.

"Very." Chihiro laughed, and made her way to the school entrance to change her shoes.

Michiyo skipped down the hallway next to her, smiling about the free day off. The pair of teenagers sat down on one of the benches to change from their school shoes to their street shoes, and then made their way outside.

Michiyo turned to Chihiro and began walking backwards in front of her. "Hey, want to walk home today? It's really nice out and we didn't get that much stuff to carry home."

"Michiyo," Chihiro said in a false scolding tone. "We live all the way on the other side of town. No way are we gonna walk." She smiled, showing that she was kidding.

"Well, we've done it before," the more hyper one replied. "Please?"

Chihiro laughed. "Okay, let's walk. My parents won't be home till later anyway, and we can see if there are any new books at the library."

The short black haired girl smiled and turned to walk normally beside her friend.

About ten minutes later, the pair had their faces pressed against the windows of the public library, willing for someone to come out and unlock the doors. No one came, and Michiyo pulled away with a sigh.

"I can't believe it's closed. Maybe Ms. Shimizu is out of town." Michiyo crossed her arms and leaned on the glass as Chihiro sat on the window ledge with her hands on her knees.

Chihiro nodded as she stared at her shoes. She had been looking forward to getting a book on Japanese dragons from the library. Mostly for the chance of finding a picture similar to Haku's dragon form.

Michiyo made a sound of excitement as she looked down the street. "Look! A new store! Let's see what they sell." Michiyo grabbed Chihiro's wrist and pulled her towards the store before Chihiro had a chance to object.

'_I thought that was a house that recently was for sale… then again I normally don't notice this building at all._' Chihiro thought as she looked at the store front.

There were colorful banners proclaiming the grand opening of the store above the door and front windows and there were two balloons tied to a standing sign saying that they sold things about Japanese mythology. The name of the store was '_Storyteller's Hideaway_' and seemed to have recently been painted. The letters still looked a bit slick.

In one of the windows, a white and red sign proclaimed that they were looking for workers. Michiyo was bouncing on her toes at the store, and was squealing in excitement. The squeals brought back some unpleasant memories of annoying brats she had babysat for, but Chihiro gritted her teeth as she looked anxiously at the door. Something didn't feel right here.

"Come on, let's go in and see if we can get jobs here!" Michiyo whispered excitedly as she dragged Chihiro by her wrist for a second time that day into the store.

It seemed faintly musty in the room, and there were a few rays of sunlight cutting through the dust-filled air to light up five filled up rows of bookshelves taking up the majority of the room. There was a small-sized dinner table overflowing with new books, most of them highlighting on Japanese mythology, ranging from the gods to the ghosts to the demons. Further back was a desk with a cash register on it, a lily of the valley in a small and colorful vase next to it. On the wall behind the desk were several brush-stroke works of art for sell as posters as well as a closed door. The room was dotted with other plants, and a small tree resided in the far corner. Several lounge chairs were also arranged around the room nearby two comic book stands, a standing lamp nearby for after dark. Only one person was there.

That one person was the owner of the small video rental shop next door, Mr. Miura. He looked up and smiled at the two young ladies as he walked over to them, leaning on his cane heavily.

"Hello Michiyo, how are you today?" Mr. Miura asked as he looked at the oldest of the pair.

"Fine Grandpa. How are you?" Michiyo replied with a smile.

"Well, my back hurts a lot and my heart is hurting a bit today. Also, I'm not breathing too good." Mr. Miura seemed to sag a bit as he adjusted his glasses.

Michiyo's smile faltered a bit as her eyes showed concern. "Grandpa, shouldn't you be resting? We don't want you to hurt yourself again."

"Yes, well, I was just leaving. I have to go and take my medications." Mr. Miura sighed, his wrinkled hands shaking a bit as he reached out to hug Michiyo. "Goodbye doll."

"Bye Grandpa, see you soon." Michiyo hugged him back and walked him to the door. There she held it open for him, earning a 'thanks' as the old man hobbled out onto the sidewalk.

Chihiro watched all of this with some sympathy, and looked for signs of worry in her friend's eyes when she returned. She did find worry, but also sadness and loss.

"Hey, are you alright Michiyo?" Chihiro asked as she put her hand on her friend's shoulder lightly.

Michiyo nodded, and then smiled happily. It didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine. It's just that he's so old that his body is basically shutting down. I don't want to loose him like I did my Grandma. I never got to know her well, and she died before she could see my little brother."

"But that's all in the past. Let's not dwell there; we are in a very nice place." Michiyo smiled for real this time, and walked over to the desk to wait for someone to come out. She didn't have to wait long.

"How may I help you two?" Chihiro jumped at the voice. It sounded somewhat like Haku, but was older sounding and deeper.

Chihiro looked over to see a man around his late teens walk out from behind one of the bookshelves towards the far end, carrying several books in his long arms. His dark hair and dark eyes were some of the only differences Chihiro could see that labeled him as 'not Haku,' along with the fact that his skin was much darker and he was older looking.

"Yes, we were wondering if we could get jobs here." Michiyo chirped before Chihiro had a chance to even open her mouth. Why was Michiyo always talking first anyway? '_Probably has something to do with how hyper she is._'

The man set the books in his arms on the desk and looked at the two with crossed arms. "Okay then, how old are you two, and do you have any other experience?"

"We've both worked in the public library for free for a year, and I'm sixteen. Michiyo's seventeen." Chihiro spoke, earning a smile from Michiyo.

The man nodded as he looked them up and down, and Chihiro felt a bit uncomfortable when his gaze lingered on her. "Alright then. I'll think about it, and then if you come back tomorrow, I should have an answer for you both by then. Is there anything else I could help you with?"

"No not really." Michiyo smiled as she walked over to the door. "I have to get going. Coming Chihiro?"

"Hold on, I want one of the posters." Chihiro pointed to the one that looked a lot like Haku. "How much is that one?"

"Five hundred yen. I made it myself." The man smiled, his teeth slightly pointed.

"Wow, you're good. Can I have one please?" The man went behind the desk and pulled out one. With several clicks the price plus the tax was displayed on the register, and Chihiro placed five hundred ten yen on the counter. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, please come again." The man nodded politely as Chihiro walked back over to the door.

"Oh! What's you're name so that we know what to call you?" Michiyo called out, causing the man to hesitate from walking into the back room.

"Oh, yes. I am Mori Yokoshima. May I inquire as to your names as well?" Michiyo seemed startled slightly by his casual use of a large vocabulary.

"I'm Sakamoto Michiyo, and my friend is Ogino Chihiro." Michiyo happily told their potential boss, whose eyes momentarily darkened at her outburst, though she didn't know it.

"All right then. Come back tomorrow and I will have an answer for you two. Have a nice day!" As Chihiro walked out, she felt his eyes lingering on her.

She defiantly had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Demeanon: Whew! This chapter is more like my normal chapter length, but three more pages would have been the real normality. Anywho, this chapter was all written in one day. Which is actually good. Anywho, time for the review replies to those reviews! 

**Tinker Bell**: I didn't mean to seem mean, but thanks for the review anyway. I hope you don't stop reviewing, because I'd like to get to know you a bit better.

**dr34mer**: You're welcome! And thank you. I am trying to update, but a combo of writer's block and end of the year things have been getting in the way.

**dark chocolate princess**: I will try to. Thanks for the review.

**OttPop**: I will try to update. Knowing you, you are going to bother me about this _and_ Forgettable (love my original story .). And please, do whatever you want with the gnats. Just make them go away. BTW, get off.

Okay, that's all that I have for reviews currently… sorry. Anywho, yes, flames are accepted, as are regular reviews. And random reviews where it takes some interpreting on my part (like a review I got from a friend somewhere else…). Anywho, please review!


	4. NOTICE

Author's Notes: All right, I personally despise false updates like this, but this one is necessary; my computer recently crashed, and all my desktop files and most of my desktop document files were lost. A vast majority of my fanfictions were in those files; I hope you all can make the connection, because I really hate having to admit it (but I must): Almost all my fanfiction stories have been destroyed. So now, in addition to all the real life problems I have now (see my Profile for a notice on that) I have lost all my documents. This also annoys me due to original stories that have been lost.

But it's alright. I'll work around this, and it will probably help with my now exceedingly slow task of rewriting everything. Hopefully my stories will improve post-present events.

See y'all!


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